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In-situ diurnal sea surface temperature variations and near-surface thermal structure in the tropical hot event of the Indo-Pacific warm pool

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Abstract

Diurnal Sea Surface Temperature (SST) variations and the near-surface thermal structure of the tropical hot event (HE) have been investigated using advanced in-situ equatorial observations with hourly temporal resolution. The information on the HE area defined by the satellite cloud-free SSTs is used to sample the in-situ observations. The in-situ SSTs sampled for the HE conditions show that a maximum (minimum) SST has a histogram mode at 30.8°C (29.0°C), and frequently appears at 15:00 (07:00) local time. The amplitude of the diurnal SST variation (DSST) is defined by the difference between the maximum and minimum SSTs. The mean DSST during HEs is greater than 0.5°C, and has a maximum of about 0.75°C at the HE peak. The time series of mean DSST gradually increases (rapidly decreases) before (after) the peak. The satellite SST has a systematic positive bias against the corresponding daytime SST measured by the Triangle Trans-Ocean buoy Network. This bias is enhanced under conditions of large in-situ DSST. One-dimensional numerical model simulation suggests that the systematic bias is caused by the sharp vertical temperature gradient in the surface layer of HE. The near-surface thermal structure is generated by conditions of high insolation and low wind speed, which is the typical HE condition.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Atmosphere and Oceanic Studies, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan

    Hiroshi Kawamura & Huiling Qin

  2. Japan Agency of Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan

    Kentaro Ando

Authors
  1. Hiroshi Kawamura
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  2. Huiling Qin
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  3. Kentaro Ando
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Correspondence to Hiroshi Kawamura.

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Kawamura, H., Qin, H. & Ando, K. In-situ diurnal sea surface temperature variations and near-surface thermal structure in the tropical hot event of the Indo-Pacific warm pool. J Oceanogr 64, 847–857 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-008-0070-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-008-0070-9

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